More Instant Japanese Words from English Ones

Last time I talked about words in English that happen to have meaning in Japanese, too. We keep coming up with more of these odd linguistic coincidences at the J-List office: some others include include hen which means “strange” in Japanese; “you know me” which is a cup for drinking green tea (yunomi); “come on” which sounds like the word for a family crest (kamon); “safe,” similar to the word for “government” (seifu); and “she knew” which is Japanese for “to die.” Another such English word that’s close in pronunciation to a Japanese one is the letter “E”, which sounds like the word ii (“ee”), the most common way to express “good” or “okay.” If you want to compliment someone on the quality of something or show your liking for something, you can throw out the letter “E” and it will probably be understood, thanks to the Japanese custom of omitting the subject whenever possible. (Note: food that tastes good uses a different word, oishii). But the Japanese language is nothing if not vague, and the word ii often carries the opposite meaning. If someone offers you coffee, for example, or the convenience store clerk asks if you want your bento warmed in the microwave, replying with ii will usually mean something close to “No, I’m fine.” When dealing with marketers, it’s important to make sure you don’t answer them in vague terms, as they’ll be happy to to misunderstand you and sign you up for a year’s supply of salmon from Hokkaido.